Toyota headlight longevity

Any suggestions on a replacement headlight bulb for my '05 Toyota 4Runner? I'm on my third set of O.E. replacement bulbs in 5 years. I seem to be replacing the bulbs every year or thereabouts. I've been purchasing the O.E. replacements from the dealer. I think possibly this vehicle is a natural bulb eater or I have some other electrical glitch. I'm going to try an aftermarket type bulb and track the longevity. I was looking at the Silverstars, but the long life bulbs might be the ticket, and I don't think I'd ever notice the output difference. Is there any difference in Long Life bulb quality from manufacturer to manufacturer?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Hello,

Your Toyota probably has some sort of voltage regulation issue. 12 volt car bulbs usually receive about 12.8-13.4 during the car battery charging process, any higher than that will reduce your bulb life! Do not start your car with the headlights on, this can greatly reduce bulb life. Long life bulbs tend to be not as bright as standard replacement bulbs. SilverStars have a different filament design that gives off more lumen, but at a reduced running lifetime. Silverstars also tint their bulbs slightly amethyst to create a less yellow look. This tint does reduce lumen output, that is why the filament is of a higher output.

Here is the flip side to the 4Runner story. I also own a '01 Toyota Sienna that has DRL and still has its original headlights intact at 130K. That is the main reason I stuck with the factory bulbs on the 4Runner, thinking they would produce the same results…which they did not. I believe I'm going to purchase one of the Philips brand bulbs for this next go around, since that is the only brand they carry at the next closest parts store. I stopped after work to look at the multiple varieties and thought I had better consult the experts before I make a selection.
Any thoughts, Visionplus, Nightguide, Extremepower?

The fact they're different platforms and different years and built in different factories means that there were plenty of chances to switch suppliers. If either was made in Japan, the "OEM" bulb for sale at the dealer's parts counter could also be from a US (or other) supplier and might not be related to the original bulb anyway. Brand does matter, though, and if you'll post which bulb it uses, someone on here can tell you which ones are brightest or last longest.

Check your voltages both at the battery and at the headlight socket with the lights on and the bulb plugged in if possible. If you're getting over low 14.x v for several minutes after starting, then you have a high voltage situation that might be your problem. I assume you'd be upset if it vibrated badly, so that shouldn't be it. Is the bulb envelope always intact? Could there be moisture getting in the headlight housings?

roadking1 said:

Any suggestions on a replacement headlight bulb for my '05 Toyota 4Runner? I'm on my third set of O.E. replacement bulbs in 5 years. I seem to be replacing the bulbs every year or thereabouts. I've been purchasing the O.E. replacements from the dealer. I think possibly this vehicle is a natural bulb eater or I have some other electrical glitch. I'm going to try an aftermarket type bulb and track the longevity. I was looking at the Silverstars, but the long life bulbs might be the ticket, and I don't think I'd ever notice the output difference. Is there any difference in Long Life bulb quality from manufacturer to manufacturer?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

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You've got the 9005/9006 set up. For best preformance from a standard bulb go with the Philips Xtreme Power line of bulbs. If your looking for maximum performance you can do the 9012 HIR conversion. (Never done this though I hear it works well.) Also like another poster said...check your voltage at the socket and see what you're getting (anything above 13.8VDC is borderline).

afdk said:

Your Toyota probably has some sort of voltage regulation issue. 12 volt car bulbs usually receive about 12.8-13.4 during the car battery charging process, any higher than that will reduce your bulb life!

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"12V" bulbs are rated for output at either 12.8V or 13.2V (US vs. ECE), and are rated for life at 14V. It'd have to be quite a voltage variance to cause a life problem. Additionally, if the voltage fluctuates while the bulb is already on, it does less damage than hitting a cold filament with excessive voltage straight off.

SilverStars have a different filament design that gives off more lumen, but at a reduced running lifetime. Silverstars also tint their bulbs slightly amethyst to create a less yellow look. This tint does reduce lumen output, that is why the filament is of a higher output.

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And this is why one should avoid those bulbs. Lower output, shorter life-- only the parts store and Sylvania get any benefit.

Lightdoctor said:

You've got the 9005/9006 set up. For best preformance from a standard bulb go with the Philips Xtreme Power line of bulbs. If your looking for maximum performance you can do the 9011HIR conversion. (Never done this though I hear it works well.)

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Rather, you should do a 9012 conversion-- low beams are used much more frequently than high beams.

Also like another poster said...check your voltage at the socket and see what you're getting (anything above 13.8VDC is borderline).

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It's not as simple as just checking the voltage at the socket. There's a specific test to determine if there are losses in the system. Checking the voltage at the socket may give artificially high readings if losses aren't taken into account; perform the test detailed here.

Perhaps if an expert sees this, they can verify or debunk this bit of hear-say, but I've heard that DRLs cause the filament vapors to deposit on the glass instead of back onto the filament because it's not hot enough. This may cause premature failure, I reckon.

bshanahan14rulz said:

Perhaps if an expert sees this, they can verify or debunk this bit of hear-say, but I've heard that DRLs cause the filament vapors to deposit on the glass instead of back onto the filament because it's not hot enough. This may cause premature failure, I reckon.

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Low-beam DRLs operate at 60% voltage; high-beam DRLs at 50%. Bulb life varies exponentially with changes in voltage, to the -13th power; and if the bulb envelope is small enough, the halogen cycle may still be operating, if less effectively. The bulb will develop a metallic black pearl appearance long before it burns out.

Alaric, you're right...I should've said 9012.

Alaric Darconville said:

Low-beam DRLs operate at 60% voltage; high-beam DRLs at 50%.

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Not quite right. Here are the requirements for low-beam DRLs as contained in Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108:

A daytime running lamp that is optically combined with a headlamp shall

(a) if combined with the lower beam of a headlamp that is designed to conform to the photometric requirements of this section, operate at

(i) normal operating voltage,

(ii) in the case of a DC (direct current) system, not less than 75% and not more than 92% of the normal operating voltage, or

(iii) in the case of an AC (alternating current) system or a modulated voltage system, the equivalent root mean square of not less than 75% and not more than 92% of the normal operating voltage;

(b) if combined with the lower beam of a headlamp that is designed to conform to the photometric requirements of section 108.1, operate at

(i) normal operating voltage,

(ii) in the case of a DC (direct current) system, not less than 86% and not more than 92% of the normal operating voltage, or

(iii) in the case of an AC (alternating current) system or a modulated voltage system, the equivalent root mean square of not less than 86% and not more than 92% of the normal operating voltage(…)

These are the standards manufacturers comply with for headlamp DRLs in Canada- and US-market vehicles. The "headlamps designed to conform to the photometric requirements of section 108.1" are ECE headlamps.

Bulb life varies exponentially with changes in voltage, to the -13th power

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Yep. And bulb output (lumens) varies exponentially with change in voltage, to the +3.4 power. It's tempting to say the life curve is so much steeper than the output curve that it's worth lowering the voltage to get long lifespan, but it's really not. If you look at the data for how much more likely you are to be in a visibility-related crash after dark than in daylight, you will quickly decide that output is much more important than lifespan.

Silver Stars, like all other "extra white" bulbs with blue glass, are a scam; they produce less light than a standard bulb (despite the "brighter! whiter!" hype) and they have an unreasonably short lifespan. Long-life bulbs greatly reduce the performance of the headlamps. First thing to do is stop buying bulbs from the dealer; it's a needless expense and they aren't any different from the name-brand bulbs you buy at the parts store.

If your low beams have a full-cap type of bulb shield (that completely blocks off the front of the bulb from view through the lens), then the Philips HIR2 is the bulb to pick for the low beams. It has much greater output than any 9006, at the same wattage, and an extremely long lifespan. The Philips Xtreme Power is the best 9006 on the market, but its lifespan is short.

If you are regularly burning out bulbs, quit buying them from the dealer.

Go to your local store and buy any name brand 'standard' output bulb and you'll do ok.

Philips has 'longerlife' and 'ecovision' bulbs which is probably what you want.

If you get any fancy brighter bulb, you'll be replacing them in months and not years.

I do a lot of night driving and bulb quality has definitely declined over the years.

deadrx7conv said:

bulb quality has definitely declined over the years.

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I don't agree. Sure, there is a lot of junk on the market, probably more now than ever before, but the reputable-brand, non-gimmicky bulbs are generally at least as good as they've always been.

You should change your bulbs every 12 to 18 months (depending on use, unless you do the HIR2 conversion) due to lumen depreciation and not getting stuck some where with dead bulbs. Long-life bulbs have a dull brownish unfocused output...almost useless for night driving (unless you stay in town all the time). When my wife bought her car, it had GE-Tungsram long life H4's...now it has Philips XP's (MAJOR lumen improvement) and I change them out for her every October first or there abouts. And yes the lifespan is short, but I'd rather that she sees where she going than worry about how many hours I'm getting from said bulbs.

Scheinwerfermann said:

Not quite right. Here are the requirements for low-beam DRLs as contained in Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108:

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That's what I get for not looking it up!

Yep. And bulb output (lumens) varies exponentially with change in voltage, to the +3.4 power. It's tempting to say the life curve is so much steeper than the output curve that it's worth lowering the voltage to get long lifespan, but it's really not.

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A temptation that I would never succumb to (nor even find to be a temptation)! However, there is also such a thing as attempting to raise the voltage well beyond the bulbs' rated life voltage, such as with the Catz ZETA (which I recall sends about 14.4V to the bulbs). As bulbs are rated for life at 14.0V, and with that whole -13th power thing, a bulb rated for 1000 hours will only last 693 hours. However, unless the ballast performs a ramp to that 14.4V, it'll fry that bulb very quickly with just a few cold-filament-to-full-voltage cycles. (While it's still working, it'll make a 1000lm bulb burn at about 1490lm. Sounds awesome until you see that the 3rd gen HIR2 will give 1400 hours of life and put out about 1690 lumens (at 12.8V; 1875lm @13.2lm) at stock voltage.)

If you look at the data for how much more likely you are to be in a visibility-related crash after dark than in daylight, you will quickly decide that output is much more important than lifespan.

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I'd rather replace a lightbulb than a car!

Alaric Darconville said:

bulbs are rated for life at 14.0V

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Some US-type bulbs are rated for lifespan at 14.0v—this is neither universal nor standardized or regulated. You have to be very careful to know what you're looking at when scrutinizing life ratings. A life rating is meaningless without an explicit test voltage.

I'd rather replace a lightbulb than a car!

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Or worse, exactly.

Laxity in regulations

Scheinwerfermann said:

Some US-type bulbs are rated for lifespan at 14.0v—this is neither universal nor standardized or regulated. You have to be very careful to know what you're looking at when scrutinizing life ratings.

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Daniel Stern's article on relays doesn't offer a similar disclaimer on the point of the 14V test voltage, hence my use of that value. However, because you say that it's NOT standardized or regulated, then it's something that surely should be regulated, if not by the NHTSA, then by the FTC (for those products sold in the U.S., regardless of country of origin).

A life rating is meaningless without an explicit test voltage.

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You know that, I know that, but most of all, the marketers know that, and they know that the general public doesn't really know that. This is why we need such regulation; so that marketers can't promise a 9006 as not only delivering 1000 lumens (at 12.8V), but instead of its 1000 hour life span (at 14.0V), they can claim a 7400 hour life (at the mythic "12V" most people think of as absolute and unvarying).

Scheinwerfermann said:

If your low beams have a full-cap type of bulb shield (that completely blocks off the front of the bulb from view through the lens), then the Philips HIR2 is the bulb to pick for the low beams. It has much greater output than any 9006, at the same wattage, and an extremely long lifespan. The Philips Xtreme Power is the best 9006 on the market, but its lifespan is short.

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I'd do this; I had great results with the Xtreme Power series of bulbs and am a loyal fan.


I got tired of replacing bulbs; my new headlights will likely outlast the Jeep...

lumen output specs on the Jw speaker combo hi/low lights does not look impressive according to their data.

Qship1996 said:

lumen output specs on the Jw speaker combo hi/low lights does not look impressive according to their data.

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Lumen output of the bulb is not the measure of a headlight's performance. It's where it puts that light (and where it doesn't) that matters. This is why a headlight based on a 9004 (with 700 lumens on the low beam filament) produces a compliant beam, but if a 9007 bulb is (illegally/unsafely/unwisely) swapped in, it may have 300 more lumens to work with, the lamp will not be compliant, as the light is not going where it should go, and is also going where it shouldn't go.

Qship1996 said:

lumen output specs on the Jw speaker combo hi/low lights does not look impressive according to their data.

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In my side by side tests with other lights, it came in second.
That's LUX measured on cones on each side of the road placed at 25, 50, & 75 yards. The only light to beat it was a set of Cibie Z-Beams with Phillips Xtreme Power bulbs.
The Speakers toasted the Truck-Lights, IPF, stock Jeep, & Hellas.
The Hellas won the raw lumen in a straight line contest though. But the Speakers even came in second there too.